Friday, August 05, 2005

Who Are These People?

For decades, radical was synonymous with leftwing in America. Yet, can we have any doubt that as surely as a redneck is likely to wear an earring and have long hair, that the Christian Right represents today’s radicals?

With our befuddled I-don’t-do-nuance President and a two-house Republican majority, the Christian religious fundamentalists have not only taken pages from the pinko heroes of yesteryear. They have done Saul Alinsky several better.

Even the most poorly funded right-wing fringe fundamentalists have Web presences. They know how to infiltrate and influence local school boards. They are expert at screaming, “We’re victims!” as they bully.

It’s no secret that left-wingers have been outflanked. Today, we are just as reactionary as they in a real sense. They strike and we must scramble.

Much of that is Democrats’ and other liberals’ faults. For decades, we have largely bought into some inane conceit of people v. technology. While right-wingers jumped on the Net, and used computers for fundraising and propaganda, far too many left-wingers made nice. They were Aquarian fish to the sharks.

We are now increasingly fascinated by what the fundamentalists think, what motivates them, and above all, how can one deal with the irrational who have fixed ideas and ideals.

1 comment:

The real question is this: are we catching up, and in some ways, surpassing them? Or is it their own corruption that will disgust people and just simply hand the liberals victories, empty ones that have little substance?

I hope the answer is that we've learned, we've heard, and we've responded by getting smarter like the true libs we are.